Samuel Amète Sarr, a former Minister of Energy under the Abdoulaye Wade regime who is charged with libeling the Senegalese President Macky Sall, was granted bail on October 1, 2014.
Sarr’s detention and trial is as a result of a post he made on his Facebook page on August 18. He posted a bank account number, which he alleged belonged to President Macky Sall.
The post also alleged that the president had enriched himself illegally. In addition, he asked the Senegalese Judiciary to find out who owns the bank account, which is credited with an amount of FCFA 7 billion (about US $14 million).
Sarr was arrested on August 19 and charged with libelling the Head of State on August 20, an offence punishable by Article 80 of the Senegalese Criminal Code.
Sarr also alleged that William Bourdon, who is the president and founder of Sherpa—an association that protect victims of economic crimes—and who has been instrumental in the ongoing corruption case against Karim Wade, former minister and son of President Wade, had failed to investigate President Sall because he was “paid handsome amounts of money by the State.”
If found guilty, Sarr faces between three to five years in jail and a fine between FCFA 100,000–1,500,000 (about US $200–US $3000).